Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama Bronze Map

A Guide to the Images of the Bronze Map on the Lawn of the Alabama Department of Archives and History

29. Black Belt Plantations
South Alabama Black Belt

Alabama's Black Belt region was named for its dark, fertile soil, well adapted to growing cotton. Before the Civil War,
large cotton plantations, supported by slave labor, provided some planters with great wealth, allowing them to build
lavish homes, some in the Greek Revival style.